path: root/docs/html/guide/topics/ui/controls/pickers.jd

page.title=Pickers
page.tags="datepicker","timepicker"
@jd:body

<div id="qv-wrapper">
<div id="qv">
<h2>In this document</h2>
<ol>
  <li><a href="#TimePicker">Creating a Time Picker</a>
    <ol>
      <li><a href="#TimePickerFragment">Extending DialogFragment for a time picker</a></li>
      <li><a href="#ShowingTheTimePicker">Showing the time picker</a></li>
    </ol>
  </li>
  <li><a href="#DatePicker">Creating a Date Picker</a>
    <ol>
      <li><a href="#DatePickerFragment">Extending DialogFragment for a date picker</a></li>
      <li><a href="#ShowingTheDatePicker">Showing the date picker</a></li>
    </ol>
  </li>
</ol>
  <h2>Key classes</h2>
  <ol>
    <li>{@link android.app.DatePickerDialog}</li>
    <li>{@link android.app.TimePickerDialog}</li>
    <li>{@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment}</li>
  </ol>
  <h2>See also</h2>
  <ol>
    <li><a href="{@docRoot}guide/components/fragments.html">Fragments</a></li>
  </ol>
</div>
</div>

<p>Android provides controls for the user to pick a time or pick a date as ready-to-use dialogs.
Each picker provides controls for selecting each part of the time (hour, minute, AM/PM) or date
(month, day, year). Using these pickers helps ensure that your users can pick a time or date that
is valid, formatted correctly, and adjusted to the user's locale.</p>

<img src="{@docRoot}images/ui/pickers.png" alt="" />

<p>We recommend that you use {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} to host each time or date
picker. The {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} manages the dialog lifecycle for you and
allows you to display the pickers in different layout configurations,
such as in a basic dialog on handsets or as an embedded part of the layout on large screens.</p>

<p>Although {@link android.app.DialogFragment} was first added to the platform in Android 3.0 (API
level 11), if your app supports versions of Android older than 3.0&mdash;even as low as Android
1.6&mdash;you can use the {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} class that's available in
the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/index.html">support library</a> for backward
compatibility.</p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> The code samples below show how to create dialogs for a time
picker and date picker using the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/index.html">support
library</a> APIs for {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment}. If your app's <a
href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#min">{@code minSdkVersion}</a> is 11 or
higher, you can instead use the platform version of {@link android.app.DialogFragment}.</p>



<h2 id="TimePicker">Creating a Time Picker</h2>

<p>To display a {@link android.app.TimePickerDialog} using {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment}, you need to define a fragment class that extends {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} and return a {@link android.app.TimePickerDialog} from the
fragment's {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#onCreateDialog onCreateDialog()} method.</p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> If your app supports versions of Android older than 3.0,
be sure you've set up your Android project with the support library as described in <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html">Setting Up a Project to Use a
Library</a>.</p>

<h3 id="TimePickerFragment">Extending DialogFragment for a time picker</h3>

<p>To define a {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} for a {@link android.app.TimePickerDialog}, you
must:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Define the {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#onCreateDialog onCreateDialog()}
method to return an instance of {@link android.app.TimePickerDialog}</li>
  <li>Implement the
{@link android.app.TimePickerDialog.OnTimeSetListener} interface to receive a callback when the user
sets the time.</li>
</ul>

<p>Here's an example:</p>

<pre>
public static class TimePickerFragment extends DialogFragment
                            implements TimePickerDialog.OnTimeSetListener {

    &#64;Override
    public Dialog onCreateDialog(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        // Use the current time as the default values for the picker
        final Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        int hour = c.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY);
        int minute = c.get(Calendar.MINUTE);

        // Create a new instance of TimePickerDialog and return it
        return new TimePickerDialog(getActivity(), this, hour, minute,
                DateFormat.is24HourFormat(getActivity()));
    }

    public void onTimeSet(TimePicker view, int hourOfDay, int minute) {
        // Do something with the time chosen by the user
    }
}
</pre>

<p>See the {@link android.app.TimePickerDialog} class for information about the constructor
arguments.</p>

<p>Now all you need is an event that adds an instance of this fragment to your activity.</p>


<h3 id="ShowingTheTimePicker">Showing the time picker</h3>

<p>Once you've defined a {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} like the one shown above,
you can display the time picker by creating an instance of the {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} and calling {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()}.</p>

<p>For example, here's a button that, when clicked, calls a method to show the dialog:</p>

<pre>
&lt;Button 
    android:layout_width="wrap_content" 
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="@string/pick_time" 
    android:onClick="showTimePickerDialog" />
</pre>

<p>When the user clicks this button, the system calls the following method:</p>
  
<pre>
public void showTimePickerDialog(View v) {
    DialogFragment newFragment = new TimePickerFragment();
    newFragment.show(getSupportFragmentManager(), "timePicker");
}
</pre>

<p>This method calls {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()} on a new instance of the {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} defined above. The {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()} method requires an instance of {@link
android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager} and a unique tag name for the fragment.</p>

<p class="caution"><strong>Caution:</strong> If your app supports versions of Android lower than
3.0, be sure that you call {@link
android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity#getSupportFragmentManager()} to acquire an instance of
{@link android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager}. Also make sure that your activity that displays the
time picker extends {@link android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity} instead of the standard {@link
android.app.Activity} class.</p>









<h2 id="DatePicker">Creating a Date Picker</h2>

<p>Creating a {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog} is just like creating a {@link
android.app.TimePickerDialog}. The only difference is the dialog you create for the fragment.</p>

<p>To display a {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog} using {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment}, you need to define a fragment class that extends {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} and return a {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog} from the
fragment's {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#onCreateDialog onCreateDialog()} method.</p>

<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> If your app supports versions of Android older than 3.0,
be sure you've set up your Android project with the support library as described in <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/support-library/setup.html">Setting Up a Project to Use a
Library</a>.</p>

<h3 id="DatePickerFragment">Extending DialogFragment for a date picker</h3>

<p>To define a {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} for a {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog}, you
must:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Define the {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#onCreateDialog onCreateDialog()}
method to return an instance of {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog}</li>
  <li>Implement the
{@link android.app.DatePickerDialog.OnDateSetListener} interface to receive a callback when the user
sets the date.</li>
</ul>

<p>Here's an example:</p>

<pre>
public static class DatePickerFragment extends DialogFragment
                            implements DatePickerDialog.OnDateSetListener {

    &#64;Override
    public Dialog onCreateDialog(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        // Use the current date as the default date in the picker
        final Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        int year = c.get(Calendar.YEAR);
        int month = c.get(Calendar.MONTH);
        int day = c.get(Calendar.DAY_OF_MONTH);

        // Create a new instance of DatePickerDialog and return it
        return new DatePickerDialog(getActivity(), this, year, month, day);
    }

    public void onDateSet(DatePicker view, int year, int month, int day) {
        // Do something with the date chosen by the user
    }
}
</pre>

<p>See the {@link android.app.DatePickerDialog} class for information about the constructor
arguments.</p>

<p>Now all you need is an event that adds an instance of this fragment to your activity.</p>


<h3 id="ShowingTheDatePicker">Showing the date picker</h3>

<p>Once you've defined a {@link android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} like the one shown above,
you can display the date picker by creating an instance of the {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} and calling {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()}.</p>

<p>For example, here's a button that, when clicked, calls a method to show the dialog:</p>

<pre>
&lt;Button 
    android:layout_width="wrap_content" 
    android:layout_height="wrap_content"
    android:text="@string/pick_date" 
    android:onClick="showDatePickerDialog" />
</pre>

<p>When the user clicks this button, the system calls the following method:</p>
  
<pre>
public void showDatePickerDialog(View v) {
    DialogFragment newFragment = new DatePickerFragment();
    newFragment.show(getSupportFragmentManager(), "datePicker");
}
</pre>

<p>This method calls {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()} on a new instance of the {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment} defined above. The {@link
android.support.v4.app.DialogFragment#show show()} method requires an instance of {@link
android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager} and a unique tag name for the fragment.</p>

<p class="caution"><strong>Caution:</strong> If your app supports versions of Android lower than
3.0, be sure that you call {@link
android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity#getSupportFragmentManager()} to acquire an instance of
{@link android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager}. Also make sure that your activity that displays the
time picker extends {@link android.support.v4.app.FragmentActivity} instead of the standard {@link
android.app.Activity} class.</p>